LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

Influencing the people in an organisation to adopt the behaviours you are going to need to thrive, is not for the feint hearted. Yet having the right people assuming this function is critical otherwise your organisation can easily find itself adrift from its purpose. If ever there was a time to truly understand your organisation’s purpose, it is now! Leaders accept this responsibility and steer with purpose. DCA Advisory Services can offer leadership mentoring for all levels of staff in your organisation.

GOVERNANCE

Operational management and governance responsibilities are different things but where is the line between these functions in your activities? Understanding how you meet your legal and ethical obligations and the risks your Board and organisation are prepared to take in doing so, requires very careful thought. DCA Advisory Services can help guide you through this difficult process.

Consider this: the NDIS will require the disability sector to double its workforce by 2018.

WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

Now consider that half these roles may need to be filled by older workers or people who have English as a secondary language.

Competition for customer savvy, reliable and engaged staff is going to be fierce. Planning for service expansion or even contracting into boutique markets is going to require a creative workforce plan and it needs to happen now! Put simply, what type of strategies, structures and culture will your organisation need to attract and retain quality staff?

STRATEGY AND PLANNING

Does your organisation have a Strategic Planning process? If so, DCA Advisory Services can work within your system to get the most from it because often what’s already there is good enough; maybe it just needs to be used differently or reviewed and updated. Or, if you don’t have a process or want a new one, DCA can help you build it

It’s discovering and implementing the right strategies that matters most.

FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY

Understanding how much money you will need to deliver your purpose is fundamental. DCA Advisory Services can help you do the sums so you can see the financial realities of your plans; how much you will need; by when; and what are the financial risks and opportunities?

Customer Focus

In the not-for-profit sector, customer focus is often considered out of context; it belongs in the commercial world – being person-centred is a much better descriptor.

Yes, perhaps it is true, that being truly person-centred is a great fit in say, a National Disability Insurance Scheme future in which people with disability become customers rather than beneficiaries. However, contemporary organisations understand that they are a very complex network of many value exchanges with many, many stakeholders; often with the power to disengage. To survive in a highly competitive market, your organisation needs deep understanding of these transactions whether the currency is money, volunteerism or even advocacy. Customer focus is an organisational wide culture that wants to understand and service your stakeholders. Why? To get the resources your organisation needs to thrive.

MARKETING

Marketing plans and customer focus must work in unison; the latter being the culture which brings life to the former. These plans are crucial for any organization especially those operating under the requirements of the NDIS.

Your plan will need careful design to ensure your products, services, and culture, are aligned with the needs of your customers, whether that is people with disabilities, other service providers, or perhaps even Government agencies. This is the environmental context that the NDIS will create.

It’s not that long ago when stakeholders would simply give organisations resources on the assumption that they do good things – how times have changed. Now stakeholders expect to know a lot more about how their resources are used and what outcomes and impact have been achieved.

Good evaluation practices consider: what information each stakeholder needs; how it can be gathered efficiently and how it can create value for the organisation. A simple evaluation practice that is part of a good Quality Management system helps to lay the Foundations for on-going process improvement.

DCA Advisory Services can help identify and measure the things that matter most

INNOVATION

Everyone is talking about it but what actually is it? DCA Advisory Services think about innovation as a new idea that creates value for your organisation and someone you serve. It doesn’t have to be a new service option. Instead, it could be just a new more efficient way of working to keep delivering what you already do. DCA Advisory Services believe that in a highly competitive market sustainable organisations will have a culture that can hatch and implement these new ideas quickly to ensure that your organization is one step ahead of the rest.. Old structures and hierarchies might be good at maintaining the status quo but are they able to really drive new ideas? DCA Advisory Services can help create the conditions and structures that will enable ideas to flourish.

INFORMATION AND KNOWLEDGE

It is very important that a strategic analysis of your computer and information management is carried out. This will indicate if your IT system is operating effectively and has the capacity to meet future demands. It will also show how improvements to your IT system can improve your organisation. DCA Advisory Services can assist in implementing a new improved system or upgrade and train you in how to use it effectively. DCA Advisory Services has access to suppliers of equipment, software and training.

COLLABORATION AND PARTNERSHIPS

Solutions to the most challenging of problems is normally beyond the resources of any one person, organisation or even sector. If your organisation is searching for ways to be financially sustainable in the long term, then collaboration, partnering or merging may be a valid option. Clearly, it’s not for everybody but it is for some. With extensive networks and experience DCA Advisory Services can facilitate the introductions and conversations that might make your vision an opportunity to be shared.

SOCIAL ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT

Trading with good intent is a perfect fit for organisations that exist for social purpose; combine this intent with the need for income diversification and voila, we have Social Enterprises, Ventures and Firms proliferating. Sadly though, income doesn’t necessarily mean margins and so striving to get the right balance between commercial and social practices is a journey with often harsh lessons. Whether you are already engaged in social trading or just considering this option, DCA Advisory Services can help your organisation find the right balance which will deliver the social and financial outcomes you seek.

HUMAN SERVICES QUALITY FRAMEWORK

DCA Advisory Services has the expertise to assist organisations in the development and review of the Human Services Quality Framework in Queensland and its associated continuous improvement framework.

Queensland’s existing quality and safeguards system will apply to all NDIS providers registered to deliver specialist disability services in Queensland during the transition to the NDIS or until a national quality and safeguards system is implemented.